Every day Smartpress customers create brilliant print. Printspiration is a curated collection of their work that showcases the very best designs printed at Smartpress. The articles feature detailed photography and commentary from our clients about their projects.
Bringing the past into the present is difficult enough without trying to turn a profit at the same time. But if you’re Larry Stuart, owner, designer and illustrator of The Union Archive, it’s your patriotic duty. He’s giving American history an artistic twist, but instead of using a quill, he’s using print, and in place of parchment, a small army of Small Posters.
Realizing your full visual expression deserves a presentation worthy of the subject. Whether your photography focuses on products, places or people, a customized booklet displays all of it with a professional look and a personal feel.
A business isn’t always about selling a product and making a profit. Sometimes it’s about giving back and making a difference. For Liz Mester, Director of Communications and Engagement for Wings for Kids, it’s about equipping “at-risk kids with the skills they need to succeed in school and thrive in life.” She’s in the business of inspiring, facilitating and educating, and she’s using print to fulfill that important mission.
As the owner and designer of Crew + Co, Courtney Kassner’s inspiring and encouraging clients with faith-based cards designed in her signature blend of vibrant color and trendy calligraphy. For Kassner, Collated Printing is a business blessing.
She’s got a business she built from scratch, four daughters with her name and entrepreneurial ambition that's not slowing down any time soon. Who is she? She’s Mary Heffernan, owner and operator of Five Marys Farms, and she’s using Smartpress to get high-quality marketing into the hands of her customers (along with her high-quality meats).
Carving out your own space in the literary landscape isn’t easy. As the founder, creative director, editor and designer of the WATER Literary and Arts Magazine, Megz Tillman-Trufant aims to “provide an outlet for the voices and perspectives of black writers and creators.” And she’s got her sights set on more than just the words.
It’s 2020. He’s 30. He’s retired. (Well… if you can call running a website, writing a best-selling book, jet-setting to speaking engagements, hosting a podcast, and publishing a monthly financial magazine “retired.”)
Freelance designer Crystal Jensen on joining the team at fashion brand Evereve to implement a rebrand and communicate it across the organization. “I always tend to lean into the happier side of design.”
Utter nonsense: Illustrator and designer Nathan Yoder on creating a brand for Runcible Cider based on a children’s story and his love for hand-drawn characters and typography. “It’s nice to be able to get off the computer.”
Designer Jaime Chismar, the creator of the ubiquitous All Are Welcome Here posters, lawn signs, window clings, magnets, and more, on building a viral brand and fostering activism. “Someday the table will be big enough for everyone.”
The design duo behind Eight Hour Day on creating Club Kiddo, their own not-so-secret-society brand for kids and developing an immersive pop-up experience to launch it: “Lots of late nights.”
Fresh Air: An illustrated National Parks calendar is among the most consistent sellers for design studio Ello There.
Love Affair: Associate creative director AJ Riccio on keeping her fine art skills sharp by illustrating vignettes of the neighborhood she loves. “I want to completely disconnect and do everything by hand.”
Positively Electric: Creative director Ian Davies of Little & Co. on designing for designers, connecting strategy with design, and the Minnesota design community. “It’s still so cool to get something that’s printed and tactile.”
A visual journal hones familiar skills in layout, editorial, and illustration with new ones in business and marketing.
Perfect Blend: Designer and illustrator Rob Patterson of Ratiofarm on creating an event poster with cultural connections for Intelligentsia Coffee. “I had to figure out the best way to tell the story.”
Drinking it in: Strategic designer Rob Patterson reads the tea leaves for his work with Intelligentsia Coffee’s Kilogram Tea brand. “The future of any design should begin with its past.”
Natural Beauty: Stationery designer Erin McManness finds outdoor inspiration for her Paper Raven product line and paper goods catalog. “I find higher meaning in nature.”
Business cards make a critical first impression for in-person meetings. Designing one for organic grocer, Native Sun, also needed to represent the store’s values. “The cards turned out to be as groundbreaking as our stores.”
Rare Talent: Designing restaurant menus takes specialized skill. Evolving kitchen and bar programs, physical abuse, and aesthetics are all factors that Kallsen Studio & Design navigated seamlessly for Minneapolis tavern, Red Cow. “When you do menus, you’re always weighing options.”
Photographer Matt Hawthorne's promotional mailer features images shot for Blender Bottle of athletes frozen in motion, capturing beautiful moments of physicality. "No one knows you exist unless you create promos that stop you in your tracks," he says.
Vintage vibe: Illustrator Nicholas Moegly’s perfect-bound portfolio book is as carefully crafted as the lettering, illustration, and sign painting it showcases. “I wanted everything about the piece to feel handcrafted.”
Simply brilliant: Designer Sarah Brown’s catalog for Niche lighting company brings its luxurious product photography to life on sumptuous uncoated paper. “If you have a good idea and believe in it and work hard, you can make anything happen.”
Mark Rantal, Creative Director at Colorado agency, Magneti, leverages immersive photography, energetic color palettes, and bold typography in a style guide booklet design for their client, OutThere Colorado.
When Workshop CA was ready to launch their line of cargo-bike pop-up retail carts, Art Director, Hannah Sandberg leaned on a square tri-fold as the framework for communicating the new concept in a step-by-step guide.
William Mullan, Marketing Director at craft chocolatier, Raaka, created a unique brand booklet that's included in gift boxes – allowing customers to savor the company’s rich story along with the sweets.
QUEST magazine inspires readers to travel and discover the unforgettable. Designer Amy Willis and her small team are responsible for capturing the Ker & Downey travel experience in its pages.
When designer Angela Kallsen was approached by Minneapolis restaurant Red Rabbit to create a new cocktail menu, she mixed illustration, pattern, and whimsy to serve up a book concept that people can’t wait to drink in.
Williams Whittle Creative Director, Eva Day, decided to celebrate the agency’s 50th anniversary with a colorful rebrand. The new look unfolds with a cleverly designed laser die cut brochure.
When photographer Shaun Fenn was inspired to create a classic newsprint mailer, he called on Nathan Strandberg, friend and co-owner of Minneapolis agency Eight Hour Day, to design the deceptively-simple print piece.
After an unexpected online shout-out from Design Milk, furniture builders and brothers, Dylan and Wesley Harkavy were invited to participate in Dwell Magazine’s LA design show. They sat down with designer Alex Braica to tailor a standout print piece for the event.
Cam McLeod is considered one of the country’s best adventure photographers. In his premiere newszine, The Spell of the Yukon, Cam shares a stunning visual narrative taken from a photo assignment commissioned by Columbia Sportswear documenting hikers on a trek through the rugged Yukon terrain.
Catherine Bretheim is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Hodgepodge magazine, a celebratory ode to strong women that she independently designed and curated.
Steph Calvert Art, the brainchild of illustrator Steph Calvert, is a one-woman show for all your illustration needs.
For the Love of Maps, a geography-focused art shop run by Chris and Nina Brown, focuses on map-themed, word art prints, both as individual states and America as a whole.
Mother-son duo captures the majestic beauty of the Pacific Northwest in their stunning mini-calendars.
As a designer for an award-winning luxury tour operator, Amy conceptualized and implemented an improved marketing concept for the company.